William Sterling

An introduction to the music section

The Royal Citole or Gittern was probably originally made for King Edward I or King Edward II around 1300 and is elaborately carved with the sort of scenes of everyday life found in Books of Hours. There is a Centaur hunting, a peasant chopping wood, another thrashing acorns from the trees for his pigs and the original rabbit with the caught in headlights look as an arrow hurtles towards it. The end is carved as a magnificent dragon. There is also the coat of arms on it of Queen Elizabeth I and her favourite Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, suggesting that its conversion to a violin was done for Elizabeth to use as a gift when she visited the earl at his castle in Warwickshire. Image © Trustees of the British Museum
My earliest memory of music making was conducting the school band mostly consisting of percussion instruments with our teacher, Mrs Distin, filling in the melody and harmony on the piano. I had to announce to the audience of parents and friends that we were about to play "Minuet in G by John Sebastian Bach". My proud mother took a photo of me conducting which I believe my sister has in the family album. I was five years old. Read more »

SPOTLIGHT: Music

Florence Price

Florence Price – Composer and Pioneer A child prodigy making her concert debut at 4, the same age as Mozart, Florence Price graduated with 2 diplomas at the age of 19. She was a professional organist, concert pianist and teacher, heading the music department at Clark University, Georgia at 23. Of her 300 compositions her… Read more »

Fanny Mendelssohn

Mendelssohn and Mendelssohn Fanny and Felix had a closer bond than probably any two other musicians but had very different careers due to their difference in gender. In his youth, Felix was described as the Mozart of the C19th but some considered his sister Fanny to be even more talented. She was destined by convention… Read more »

Music composition

I wrote my first work when I was five.  It was for chime bars and Mrs Distin called it “William’s Tune”.  This was 1963 and I think she was very surprised that a five year old would be able to come up with an original tune.  I had played all the ones she had given… Read more »

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